CHICAGO (September 17, 2015) - Chicago will ring in 2016 like never before with Chi-Town Rising, an epic New Year's Eve celebration Presented by Corona Extra and Hosted by Hyatt Gold Passport. The mega-event is designed to put Chicago at the top of the list of winter holiday destinations, and showcase the city as a world-class venue for celebrating New Year's Eve.

Building on the city's recent successes in attracting and hosting major events, such as the NFL Draft and the James Beard Awards, Chicago will ring in 2016 with a televised festival, featuring headliner musical acts on multiple stages, a dazzling countdown to 2016 at Hyatt Regency Chicago, and a magnificent fireworks show.

Chi-Town Rising, which is privately funded and is being produced by Arena Partners, has the support of Choose Chicago and the Illinois Office of Tourism, adds another marquee event to the city's event calendar, and further positions Chicago as a year-round visitor destination. To that end, Arena Partners conceived and rallied support from the private sector to bring Chi-Town Rising to fruition.

"We are thrilled to welcome a new tradition to our city, changing the way that Chicago and the Midwest celebrates New Year's Eve," said John Murray, founder of Arena Partners and Executive Producer of Chi-Town Rising. "Our line-up of festivities amidst the city's iconic surroundings will make for a truly unique holiday event, spotlighting Chicago as an exciting destination to ring in the New Year."

The heart of the celebration is the Chicago River between Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive, anchored by multiple stages of musical entertainment on the north and south sides of the river, and a midnight countdown featuring a giant Chicago star rising skyward to meet the New Year. To ring in the New Year, a midnight countdown featuring a giant Chicago star will ascend 36 stories up the West Tower of Hyatt Regency Chicago, and an unprecedented fireworks show will provide a dazzling climax for the evening's entertainment.

"On behalf of our entire team at Constellation Brands, we're honored and thrilled to have our flagship brand, Corona Extra, serve as presenting sponsor of Chi-Town Rising," said Bill Hackett, President of Constellation Brands' beer division. "Chicago is one of the greatest cities on earth and serves as headquarters for our beer operations. We're excited to do our part to help bring this new Chicago tradition to life and look forward to a great event."
NBC 5 Chicago will showcase this mega-event live with highlights from the crowds, musical stages, celebrities, fireworks display, and countdown spectacle.

"Truly, the sky is the limit for Chicago when it comes to celebrating New Year's Eve," Murray said. "The ascending star symbolizes our collective history of meeting challenges head-on and seeing opportunities in every new adventure; and it represents our aspirations rising to embrace the New Year. We look forward to this event becoming a new tradition in Chicago."

Chi-Town Rising aims to help Choose Chicago reach Mayor Emanuel's tourism goal of welcoming 55 million visitors annually by 2020. As Chicago embraces all seasons, this celebration is aimed at not only showcasing Chicago as a destination for New Year's Eve, but as a winter travel destination with events extending into the New Year and opportunities to visit the city's world-renowned restaurants, cultural institutions, retail shops, and attractions.

"In 2014, Chicago welcomed 50.2 million visitors catapulting the city to one of only three U.S. cities to welcome more than 50 million visitors," said Don Welsh, president and CEO, Choose Chicago. "Marquee events such as Chi-Town Rising are a key component to achieving Mayor Emanuel's goal of increasing annual visitation to 55 million by 2020. The first quarter is historically a slower time for our hotels, restaurants, attractions, and more, so to have a new and exciting demand generator such as Chi-Town Rising is going to make a significant and positive impact on business."

Chi-Town Rising will be free to the public, with opportunities for private events and experiences coordinated through restaurants, bars and hotels in the area. Information regarding the full talent line-up, activities, private event access, and more will be shared in the coming weeks.

For media who are interested in covering the inaugural Chi-Town Rising event and being credentialed, please register as media on www.ChiTownRising.com.

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About Arena Partners
Arena Partners lives at the intersection of growth strategy and event execution to help clients maximize the benefits of sponsorship, activation, and affinity programs. John Murray, founder of Arena Partners, is a seasoned strategist and proven operator, specializing in innovative strategies, complex program design, and elite event execution. Learn more at www.getinthearena.com.

About Constellation Brands Beer Division
Constellation Brands Beer Division is the exclusive brewer, marketer and supplier of a growing portfolio of high-end, iconic, imported beer brands for the U.S. market. The portfolio includes Corona Extra (the #1 imported beer in the U.S.), Corona Light (the #1 imported light beer in the U.S.), Modelo Especial (the #2 imported beer in the U.S.), Negra Modelo, Pacifico and Victoria beer brands. For more information, visit www.cbrands.com.

About Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a proud heritage of making guests feel more than welcome. Thousands of members of the Hyatt family strive to make a difference in the lives of the guests they encounter every day by providing authentic hospitality. The Company's subsidiaries develop, own, operate, manage, franchise, license or provide services to hotels, resorts, branded residences and vacation ownership properties, including under the Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt CentricTM, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt ZilaraTM, Hyatt ZivaTM, Hyatt Residences® and Hyatt Residence Club® brand names and have locations on six continents. As of June 30, 2015, the Company's worldwide portfolio consisted of 618 properties in 51 countries. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.

About NBC 5 Chicago/ WMAQ
NBC 5 (WMAQ-TV) is the owned NBC station in Chicago. On October 8, 1948, the station, then called WNBQ-TV, transmitted its first telecast from the Merchandise Mart-the third game of the Indians-Braves World Series in Cleveland, Ohio. The station's current call letters, WMAQ-TV, were established in 1964. During NBC5 Chicago's rich history, the station pioneered a number of television "firsts." On April 15, 1956, NBC 5 became the world's first all-color station. In September of 1986, NBC 5 became the first Chicago commercial station to broadcast in stereo. In 1989, NBC 5 was the first Chicago station to present closed captioning of all local newscasts. Currently, NBC 5 airs over 30 hours of local news per week in HD on its core channel and the latest news, weather, original franchises and streamed original content on NBCCHICAGO.COM and the NBC 5 Mobile App.